Board of Directors

Carol graduated from the University of Kansas School of Law in 1986 and has practiced in Topeka her entire legal career.  She was a preschool and learning disabilities teacher and foster mother before law school. She has clerked for the Kansas Court of Appeals, served as an Assistant Attorney General under Robert T. Stephan, and Assistant City Attorney with the City of Topeka.  Carol moved to private practice in 2000 and in 2006 she established her own firm. She later merged her firm with an Overland Park based health law firm. In December 2018 Carol accepted the position of Staff Attorney for the Third Judicial District, Topeka, Kansas.

Carol’s private practice was focused on health law and employment law issues.  She is past president of the Kansas Association of Hospital Attorneys. She serves on the Kansas Lawyer Assistance Program Board by Supreme Court Appointment. Carol’s representation of health and human services organizations and health care professionals has informed her understanding of the pervasive and long lasting effects of sexual and domestic violence on every aspect of our society – home, work, school, leisure, religious. She is honored to be a member of this esteemed Board and to support the work of the Coalition.

Kansas Trial Lawyers Association
Callie earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Kansas with a major in Political Science and a law degree from Washburn University School of Law. She is admitted to the practice of law in Kansas. Callie has held professional government affairs positions as a contract lobbyist, executive director of a non-profit association, and manager of legislative affairs with a non-profit health plan in Seattle, Washington. Her accountabilities have included lobbying at the state and federal levels of government, compliance, association management, fundraising, and persuasive communication. Callie’s clients all have faced tough legislative challenges in difficult political environments where negative public perception is a factor. Her experiences have given her the perspective that everyone has a story worth hearing; amicability goes a long way toward building bridges; and a middle ground is important but integrity must never be compromised.

Vibrant Health
Rasmita Patro is currently a Director of Finance and Administration for Vibrant Health. Vibrant Health is a Federally Qualified Health Center that provides a range of medical, dental and behavioral health services through three clinics and at sites throughout Wyandotte County. She worked for Heartland RADAC as a financial specialist. Heartland RADAC is an established provider of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) services in 76 counties in the State of Kansas. She worked for Friends of Yates, a domestic violence shelter in Kansas City, Kansas. During her time at Friends of Yates she served as an Office Manager, Associate Director, Assistant Director/Grants Manager, and then became Executive Director. Over the years, Rasmita has stayed committed to the mission of Friends of Yates, and gained experience in office management, financial administration, and grant management. Rasmita holds a master’s degree in Home Economics and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. She has an extensive background in accounting, auditing, and operations management in nonprofit settings for over 16 years. She brings these and other skills to any and all projects that may come along with an understanding of the role of state domestic and sexual violence coalitions and programs in the intervention and prevention of domestic and sexual violence.

Brighthouse Kansas
Sue Wray is the Executive Director of Brighthouse in Hutchinson, Kansas. Brighthouse provides services to victims and survivors of sexual and domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking.  Wray is a Hutchinson native who joined Brighthouse as executive director in 2021, having previously worked in dual communication and Hutchinson Regional Medical Foundation roles for Hutchinson Regional Healthcare System. Wray’s background includes roles as a reporter in broadcast media in cities such as Houston, Austin and Nashville. Following her career in broadcast, Wray began working in communications, including a stint as communications director for the Muhammad Ali Center in Louisville and a decade at an advertising agency there. She returned to Hutchinson in 2014 to be closer to family.

Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka
Amanda Kiefer is the First Vice President, Director of Human Resources and the Office of Minority and Women Inclusion for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka. Amanda is a 2003 Washburn Law School graduate, and received a Political Science degree from Kansas State University.

Amanda is a graduate of the 2014 Leadership Greater Topeka class and one of Greater Topeka’s 2014 Top 20 Under 40. She is a Past-President of the Topeka Bar Association, the Washburn Women’s Alliance and the Women Attorneys Association of Topeka. She has chaired the Corporate Counsel Section of the KBA and served as the Conference Co-Chair for the Kansas Women Attorneys Association. She is a board member of the Boys and Girls Club and the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence. Amanda previously served on the board of Women Vision International, a not-for-profit corporation that coordinated a micro-lending program in Ghana, Africa.

Health System Physician Specialist
Dr. Lakhani joined the KCSDV Board of Directors in September 2021. (more to come)

Kansas Government Relations Director, American Heart Association
Kari Rinker has over a decade of experience working in both nonprofit and political organizations as a government relations and advocacy professional. She currently works as Kansas Government Relations Director for the American Heart Association.  She has served on boards and volunteered with organizations tackling systemic issues such as reproductive freedom, gender and relationship violence, infant and maternal mortality and serving youth. She currently serves on the City of Wichita’s Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights Advisory Board. Kari earned a graduate degree in public administration with a certification in nonprofit management from Wichita State University, and a Bachelor of Science in organizational leadership and management from Friends University.  She has 1 spouse, 2 ducks, 3 kids, 3 chickens, 4 cats, and lives in Wichita.

Judicial Asst. – Third Judicial District
Ka’Shai Taylor serves as a Judicial Assistant with the Kansas Third Judicial District. A gradate of Independence Community College, Taylor is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Studies at Wichita State University. Taylor is a passionate advocate for the Deaf community.

Executive Director, Safehouse Crisis Center